Magnates of Poland and Lithuania

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Painting, by Jan Matejko, of Polish magnates (1697–1795). For their names, please see image description [1].
A Polish lord's journey during reign of King August III, by Jan Chełmiński, 1880
Possessions of Polish magnates in 16th–17th centuries

The magnates of Poland and Lithuania (Polish: magnateria) were an aristocracy of Polish-Lithuanian nobility (szlachta) that existed in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, from the 1569 Union of Lublin, in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, until the Third Partition of Poland in 1795.[1]

The

People's Republic of Poland
.

Famous magnate families in the territories of the

Sapieha families
.

History and characteristics

The magnates arose as the wealthiest and most politically powerful

Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, around 16th century.[1] Some traced their ancestry to Gediminas, a Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1316, the Gediminids. Their powers waned after the Commonwealth loss of independence following its final partition in 1795, but they would remain a significant power in the culture, politics and economy of the Polish territories until World War II.[1]

Magnates (or higher nobility) vied for political power with the lesser and middle nobility (

ordynacja system.[1] Magnate residences often became cultural and economic centers for a given region.[1]

Ossoliński family and the Zamoyski family.[1]

From the late 16th century the influence of the magnates on Commonwealth politics rose sharply, through their participation in the administrative system (see

Lithuanian Civil War of 1700).[1] Some magnates were also elected as kings of the Commonwealth; namely Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki and Stanisław August Poniatowski (a relative of the Czartoryski family).[6][7]

All members of the szlachta were equal under the law, therefore "

offices in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth however were very popular.[4][8]

The wealthiest of magnates would wear crimson and scarlet items of clothing, leading to a nickname for that elite group, karmazyni (the "crimson ones").[10]

Families

Famous magnate families from the

Tyszkiewicz (family).[1][11]

Residences

Major magnate residences, usually in the form of

Tulczyn (Tulchyn).[12][13]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nobility of Poland.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Magnaci (Magnates)". Encyklopedia PWN. 2010. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
  2. ISBN 978-0-85045-744-5
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0-674-92685-1
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-88706-833-1
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-19-925339-5
    .
  6. ISBN 978-0-295-98093-5
    .
  7. ISBN 978-0-521-83372-1
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0-85045-736-0
    .
  9. ISBN 978-0-7546-6825-1
    .
  10. ^ Klub Kostiumologii i Tkaniny Artystycznej (Warsaw, Poland). Sesja; Stowarzyszenie Historyków Sztuki. Oddział Warszawski (1994). Ubiory w Polsce. Kopia. p. 183.
  11. ^ S. J. Starykoń-Kasprzycki, Polska Encyklopedia Szlachecka. Warszawa: Instytutu Kultury Historycznej, 1935-1938. Print.
  12. ISBN 83-02-04757-0
    .
  13. ^ Michael Pratt. The Great Country Houses of Poland. New York: Abbeville, 2007. Print.
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